Dubai: Some of the key retailers are not participating in the first “Shopper Smart Living” to showcase the best in home appliances at the event.
“Gitex Shopper is an IT/Electronics event, bringing in home appliance do not add to the brand equity of the event which is a popular tech electronics event. If home appliance were a smart gadget connected to internet [which is the future trend of Internet of Things] it makes sense to have home appliance at the event,” said Santosh Varghese, general manager of Toshiba Gulf FZE.
Plug Ins and Jumbo Electronics are not participating this year.
“We will not feature home appliances this year,” said Nadeem Khanzadah, head of OmniChannel retail at Jumbo Group.
Sean Connor, General Manager of Plug Ins, said “not this year. We are evaluating this year’s progress.”
“We also believe this is an important growth category in the market, but certainly space is always a restriction at these types of events. We’ll certainly consider this for future events,” he said.
He said the shopper is a place to showcase technology products across all categories and customer insight says this is an “important growth category”. Though we don’t expect a lot of sales from this category, showcasing appliances is a good idea.
With industry experts estimating the market for in-house appliances alone to reach Dh4 billion by 2017, other retailers and brands are showcasing in a big way.
A wealth of choices
Emax, General Enterprises Company, Jacky’s Electronics, Makook Smart Living, Moonway Group, Mega Electronics, Samsung Gulf Electronics, Sharaf DG and VRR Trading are bringing the latest to the show.
Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice-president of Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), said that the event will offer consumers a wealth of choices for almost every corner of their homes, offices and everyday lifestyles, so this is really about smart shopping.
All the participating outlets will be offering free home delivery and installation for large appliances but all the home appliances are not displayed at the stands, mainly fridges, washing machines, beauty products, air conditioners, emergency lights, fans, etc.
“Samsung is changing the way people interact with their technology. Customers can observe and even experience everything that stands just beyond the horizon at our stand,” said Mohammad Gharaibeh, general manager of home appliance division at Samsung Gulf.
“We expect this year to be even bigger, offering consumers the perfect one-stop-shop destination to discover the latest products to improve their home, work, school and personal leisure time,” he said.
“We will be showcasing a range of small domestic appliances and personal grooming products as we have seen a consistent demand for smarter and quicker appliances that make life easier. We are expecting great sales in Shopper Smart Living, especially with new launches,” Mahesh Chotrani, assistant vice-president at Jacky’s Electronics, said.
Heny Jreige, managing director of VRR Trading, said: “We are excited to be participating in the first ever ‘Shopper Smart Living’ with a wide range of product.”
